Cigarette consumption level despite price hikes

The consumption of cigarettes in the Czech Republic has not decreased, despite a marked rise in prices in recent years, Pravo reported. While 23.5 billion cigarettes were sold in 2005, last year the figure was only slightly lower at 23.45 billion, the daily said. A representative of a tobacco company said, however, that the price hikes had led to increased smuggling of cigarettes from Poland and Ukraine, as well as more illegal production.